PARENT: Flyers have more to do than pick a goalie

\Philadelphia Flyers' Steve Mason looks on from the bench during the third period in Game 3 of an NHL hockey first-round playoff series against the New York Rangers, Tuesday, April 22, 2014, in Philadelphia. The Rangers won 4-1. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

VOORHEES, N.J. — Although it’s playoff time, or perhaps because of that, the Flyers’ top-floor office residents have proven once again that they have not yet learned that medical mysteries do nothing but cause locker room distractions.

So two days ahead of another must-win welcoming of the Rangers, Steve Mason decided to end all speculation about whether he’s over his upper body concussion/whiplash/neck strain/whatever injury enough to stand in the crease for Game 4.

“I’ve just been paying more attention to my practices and they’ve been good, so I don’t think there’s much to worry about,” Mason said Wednesday. “I’m not in a rhythm right now because I haven’t had a start. But I feel good. I don’t think I’ll have any problems.

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“I don’t think there’s much restricting me right now so I don’t think there should be any problems whenever I get in there.”

Mason then touched his toes, put his fingers to his nose, counted down from 10 to 2 and finally heard the media doctors declare him fit.

With that, he hopes to put to rest all the talk about how his strangely flexible status before Game 3 didn’t help Ray Emery’s shaky state of mind. Of course, Emery’s a pro, experienced at preparing for the biggest of games. So maybe there isn’t much to that sexy theory.

Rather than the distraction hypothesis, it should be concluded that Emery simply had a bad game. A couple of soft goals and he was playing like the backup goalie he was again, mainly because his team spent so much time taking pot shots at an impenetrable Rangers defense.

Now, if Mason fully expects to hear his name passionately called by head coach Craig Berube ahead of Friday’s game, he’ll have to pass the Chief test ... when?

“I’ll make that decision when the time comes,” Berube said.

Expect the final chapter of the Mason Mystery Series to finally reach no-brainer status Thursday, since all Berube needs to see is Mason go through one practice without bending over in distress near the end of it as he did last Friday in New York. Presuming that comes off without a hitch of the diaphragm, Berube can finally put the goaltending mess at ease and begin to address other issues...

Like how to possibly get his power-play units and top three lines of forwards to stop playing wall ball with the puck against the Rangers’ blue line.

This one might even be murkier, but here’s a few suggestions:

1. Tinker with the power play, because what they’re getting at the point isn’t good enough. Kimmo Timonen doesn’t have the wheels he once did, and quite frankly, his cautious approach up top alone isn’t working against the Rangers’ defense.

The Flyers likely would benefit from having Mark Streit at the top with Timonen, in a 2-2-1 set from the point on down with Claude Giroux and Jake Voracek moving up and down on the wings and Wayne Simmonds hacking away for rebounds. It will give a more fluid, fast look to the power play.

2. A tougher mission: Bring the Rangers out of their shell. Their defense has been collapsing back down to protect goalie Henrik Lundqvist, and since the Flyers haven’t been able to shoot holes in that defensive curtain, there’s no reason why they have to alter anything.

So the Flyers’ offense has to cycle the puck more, something their second line of Vinny Lecavalier, Brayden Schenn and Simmonds tried in earnest Tuesday but has to execute with better precision Friday.

Meanwhile, the yells about how the Rangers’ defense has negated Giroux’s offensive game have been overstated. But if Scott Hartnell doesn’t soon start creating more room for Giroux and Voracek to operate, a line switch there might be a good idea, too.

Oh, and one third but not unimportant matter: Get a grip on reality, stop worrying about the past week and figure out how to move ahead. Or at least figure out how to make a move into that Rangers defensive zone.

“That’s the way it happens sometimes; you think you’re the better team and you lose the game,” Simmonds said. “That’s just hockey. That’s the way it works. You can’t really dwell on things like that. We have to keep going forward and not look back.”